Second Brain / Industry term
Trust state
A record of what evidence and checks support a record's use for a stated purpose, including scope, time, and unresolved uncertainty.
Labels such as raw, processed, and reviewed describe workflow stages but can hide which properties were checked. A transcript may have verified speaker names but an uncertain dollar amount. A better trust state records source version, checks, results, reviewer or verifier, expiry, and intended use so downstream systems can make property-specific decisions.
Builder example
Retrieval should rank authority, freshness, scope, and evidence rather than treat reviewed as a universal higher tier. Exact database comparison may support one field automatically; a legal interpretation may require a specialist. Raw primary evidence can outrank a stale approved summary when the question asks for the source's wording.
Common confusion: A trust state is not the same as how recent a record is. A freshly captured note can be brand new and still unverified, while an older record can be reviewed and dependable. What the trust state tracks is the level of checking a record has passed, not its age.